FanGraphs Audio: Joel Goldberg on the Rising Royals

Episode 1001 Hot Stove season is upon us and we are ready to start picking apart transactions, but not before we talk about the Kansas City Royals. To kick things off, David Laurila welcomes Joel Goldberg, broadcaster and reporter for the Royals. David didn’t put Bobby Witt Jr. on his AL Rookie of the Year ballot this year, but he and Joel discuss how the best is certainly yet to come for the young phenom. The pair also talk about the underrated Scott Barlow, top prospect Maikel Garcia, the promise of a new ballpark, and how Kansas City was Salvador Perez’s town before it belonged to Patrick Mahomes. We also get insight into Dayton Moore’s legacy now that he has left the organization and J.J. Picollo has become the new president of baseball ops. [3:53] In the second half, Ben Clemens is joined by Eric Longenhagen to talk about the early roster moving and shaking. The duo discuss glove-first center fielders who can’t hit enough for the majors, the Marlins struggling to develop players with a good approach at the plate, and Ben’s recent article about what would happen if pitching were a carnival game. Eric and Ben also banter about backstops, wonder how catchers who are good at framing will be valued going forward, framing vs. blocking, and if pop time is more important than accuracy when throwing to second base. [37:56] To purchase a FanGraphs membership for yourself or as a gift, click here. To donate to FanGraphs and help us keep things running, click here. Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @dhhiggins on Twitter. You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or other feeder things. Audio after the jump. (Approximate 88 minute play time.) var SERVER_DATA = Object.assign(SERVER_DATA || {}); Source